Finding the wall: The best treasure hunt in Paris

More on the Philippe Auguste Wall and how you can find it too.

I’ve lived in Paris for nine years now and there’s one thing that has kept me endlessly intrigued.

The Philippe Auguste Wall.

I know for a fact that the idea of “an interesting wall” is enough to make some readers groan. Some may have stopped reading already. That’s fine. Au revoir. More wall for the rest of us.

About once a year, I share my latest findings on this wall and it keeps me very satisfied. Remember, I’m Australian. And according to my subscriber stats, you’re probably Australian too, or American. And that means you didn’t grow up with an 800-year-old defensive wall in your back garden either.

But this wall is mostly fascinating because of how it was swallowed up by Paris. Not destroyed, nor preserved. Swallowed up. And over the centuries, with rebuilds, repairs, and restorations to the city, the wall allows itself to be discovered again. Bit by magical bit.

Imagine this: in 1989 they found a very-much intact stone archway from the wall that was taller than a grown man (I measured).

This arch let the Bievre river flow through the wall to water the gardens of some Left Bank Monks. And this archway was discovered an unbelievable two floors beneath the ground level of Paris. And they only found it in 1989!! That’s 800 years after the wall was built. When was it last seen before 1989?

But way more interesting than that… what else is buried and where?

As many of you know, I’ve made it something of a life mission to find the vestiges of this wall. I’ve gone way beyond what the experts have shared on the internet. In fact, I may have become the expert. I even gave a talk about it to the American Friends of the Louvre (and as you may know, the fortress part of the wall is on display on the lower floor of the Louvre museum).

Anyhow, skipping ahead to this week and I’ve revealed a few more of my recent finds along the path of the wall. The most exciting of which is a new tower that I never knew existed!

To set the scene: A few months ago I was wall hunting on the Left Bank when I stumbled into the headquarters of the perfume emporium Buly. These headquarters are quite well-hidden from the street, you have to go through a long and dark tunnel to get to them. Then, it opens into a little garden that contains a massive glass-walled office.

And right there in the middle of the office is an 800-year-old tower that looks weary, yet impressive. It even has windows.

Defying the odds of father time, this tower stands tall (or perhaps leans tall…) and is magnificent to behold. I went back this week to see it again, and the office’s communications manager, Florian-Élie Vaz, was kind enough to speak on the podcast about it all. I even kept a few of his French phrases in so you can really get that feeling of being in a Parisian office with us.

Then, I went a few minutes down the road, where I revealed another tower that’s very well hidden inside a private parking garage. I did a stakeout to get in, followed some guy through the door, then got my pics before the security could ever catch me. More pics here.

Then, I finished my walk with a delightful lunch at a neo-brasserie that proudly plays host to yet another tower as its dining room centrepiece.

I wondered, as I ate my duck and sipped my red wine, whether any of the other diners realized just how wild it was to be sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with such ancient history. I certainly realized and I appreciated it. I appreciated the wine too.

You can listen to my on-the-go episode here. Share it around. I don’t know anyone else making episodes like this, I’d love it to get a big audience :)

Meanwhile, do you want to see more of this wall in a more visual way? Fear not, I’ve got you covered. A while back, I did a live walk along the outline of the wall on the other side of the Left Bank (the fifth arrondissement). To watch it, click on this magic link that will only work for Earful Tower Patreon members. That link unlocks the most popular live video I ever recorded for members, where I snuck into five private courtyards and revealed more of the wall than most people will ever find in their lives. We even met a resident who chose her apartment just because it backed onto this wall.

Membership on Patreon is $10 a month, the cost of two capuccinos in Paris, or one mango on rue Cler. This video replay is worth the month’s admission straight up. Sign up here.

In other news, I’ve released the 2024 version of our PDF guide to Paris. It’s free for Patreon members and accessible here. Otherwise you can buy it here for €19.99 and it will be emailed to you automatically. You can read more about the guide here.

In other book news, we delivered our kids books to Shakespeare and Co this week, plus the Musée d’Orsay, and the Red Wheelbarrow. We are now officially sold out in Paris, except for 20 Kylie the Crocodiles and 3 Paris On Airs. If you’re in Paris and you want one for Christmas, email me and quickly. Otherwise, if you’re in the US or Australia, you can buy them online here and shipping is included.

That’ll do for now. Next week on the podcast is something to do with the letter X, then Y, then Z, then we’re finished for the season and for the year! And we’re going to end on a high. Any guesses?

Thanks for reading,

Oliver

PS: I realize that Substack is encouraging readers of this newsletter to become paying members. That’s fair, they have a business to run too. But if you’re already a Patreon member of The Earful, please ignore those encouragements, you’re already doing plenty. For now, the only benefit of being a paid Substack supporter of The Earful Tower is that warm feeling of supporting your favourite channel. And you are most welcome to jump on board and help us thrive.